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Executive Summary April 17 & 18, 2009 Council Meeting

Introduction

The Council of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Saskatchewan operates under an explicit set of governance policies. It strives to make its' work as transparent as possible to the medical profession and the general public.

Those portions of the Council's deliberations that are not confidential are open to observation by any person subject to space availability in the meeting room.

At the conclusion of each Council meeting an Executive Summary of the meeting is widely distributed to the District Medical Associations, related organizations and the public media. This Executive Summary provides a brief overview of issues discussed, decisions made, and/or actions taken by the Council. If any person wishes more detailed information about any of the issues which are not subject to confidentiality constraints, these can be obtained by contacting Ms. Tracy Hastings, the College's Regulatory Services Coordinator, at 500 - 321A 21st Street East, Saskatoon SK S7K 0C1; Phone (306) 244-7355; Fax (306) 244-0090; Email tracy.hastings@cps.sk.ca

The Council devoted a full day on Friday, April 17, to dialogue and reflection in a retreat setting.

The first two hours of the retreat were focused on a dialogue with Mr. Roger Francis about communication issues with an emphasis on governmental relations. The duration of the day focused on a dialogue with Dr. Allen Backman about organizational governance issues.

All of the Council's governance workload which normally extends over two days was compressed into a single day on Saturday, April 18, 2009.

After an extensive and through review of all of the College Bylaws by a Council Committee, and discussion of the committee's recommendations for Bylaw revisions at a previous Council meeting, the Council reviewed the final recommendations for revision of the College Bylaws. Prior to this Council meeting, Mr. Salte had invited individual Councilors to identify issues and concerns they may have with the final draft Bylaw revisions. One Councilor exercised the option to do so in advance of the meeting and several others raised issues for discussion at this Council meeting. Some final amendments were made to the draft document as a consequence of the dialogue that occurred at this Council meeting. The Council then unanimously adopted the revised Bylaws.

The Council received updated reports from both the Associate Registrar and the Deputy Registrar in respect to the implementation of the revised Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) across Canada effective April 1, 2009. The Registrar reported on dialogue that is occurring between all of the Provincial/Territorial Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, through the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC), to establish and implement common medical licensure standards country wide.

The Registrar noted that he will have to take a formal position on behalf of the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons on a set of licensure standard principles at a meeting in Halifax on June 12, 2009. The Council reviewed the principles submitted by FMRAC and expressed its unanimous support of the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons for these principles.

The Council reviewed written monitoring reports from the Registrar in respect to:

  1. The Registrar's implementation of the Council's policies pertaining to a Quality Healthcare System, and;

  2. The Registrar's compliance with the Council's Executive Limitation Policies pertaining to:

    1. Regulatory Functions,

    2. Communication and Support to the Council,

    3. Emergency Executive Succession

The Council also appointed a small working group to incorporate into its current Governance Policies a number of policy changes that arose from dialogue at the Council retreat the previous day.

The Council set a penalty under Section 57 of the Medical Profession Act for Dr. Thomas Chambers of Regina who was found guilty of unprofessional conduct by a Discipline Hearing Committee. The Discipline Hearing Committee found Dr. Chambers had caused the Medical Services Branch to pay him fees for professional services that he did not perform and then he fabricated medical records in respect to physician patient encounters that did not occur. The penalty imposed by the Council included a six-month period of suspension from practice, a fine of $10,000, costs totaling $16,058.34, and other conditions.

Dr. Samir Saha of North Battleford appeared before the Council to appeal a decision made by the Registrar that his temporary registration will not be extended beyond April 30, 2009. The Council affirmed the Registrar's decision.

After reviewing an investigational report from a Preliminary Inquiry Committee with respect to a physician, the Council laid charges of unprofessional conduct.

After reviewing an investigational report from a Preliminary Inquiry Committee in respect to a physician, and exploring the willingness of the complainant in this case to support an alternative resolution of the matter which was the subject of an investigation, the Council accepted the proposed alternative resolution strategy.

After considering an investigational report from the Preliminary Inquiry Committee in respect to a physician, the Council determined that it will not lay charges of Unprofessional Conduct against this physician but directed the Registrar to communicate clearly and explicitly its future expectations of this physician.

The Council reviewed a report from its legal counsel with respect to the status of formal investigations underway. The Council expressed its support for the revised format of these reports.

The Council re-appointed Dr. Edward Tsoi of Estevan as the Colleges representative on a SIAST Committee dealing with the education of nurse practitioners.

The Council will next meet in Saskatoon on June 19th & 20th, 2009.